The Not So Dead Walking
by Priestess of Groove
Summary: "I am going to print this shot, put it on my desk, and write a little note next to it that says 'Harvey finally wore a costume like I asked,'" Jessica said with a pleased smile.  Harvey/Mike/Donna Friendship
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: ** I have never been to New York, so I will very likely be making up all street names. Please forgive! But a team-oriented fic. Should be fun! ^_~ Enjoy!**  
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**The Not So Dead Walking**

**Chapter 1  
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When Mike arrived at Pearson Hardman – just ten minutes late! He was steadily improving on his punctuality – he was surprised to find in his e-mail that there was an office-wide meeting scheduled later in the day. _Everyone_ was expected to be there, including the partners. Usually they had meetings every Thursday at roughly 2 o'clock so all the lawyers could plan around it, but this meeting was at 11 am and it was only Monday. Then he decided to put it out of his mind and go see Harvey for the stack of files he had undoubtedly waiting for him.

She spotted walking down the hall and said in a too loud voice, "Oh look, it's the puppy! He's getting closer to being on time." She got up and put up the foot high stack of files that Harvey had pulled for him. Mike sighed at the work but, really, if he didn't want to read so much paperwork he should have gone into a different line of work.

"Good morning, Donna. Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yup," she said, but she did not offer any details and simply smiled. As the weeks had gone by her smile had become less patronizing and a lot more heartwarming of which he was thankful of. He knew enough of Donna's exploits not to cross her, particularly when it came to Harvey.

"Hey, did you get that e-mail about the meeting at 11?"

"Yes, I did," she replied

"Do you have any idea what it's about?" Mike asked, rather curious as to why the secretaries were _also_ invited to the meetings. Not that they weren't important but rarely did they have to face the same issues as the lawyers did.

"No idea. And on that note, Harvey wants that top file _before_ that meeting, so I suggest you get to working on it."

Mike glanced up to Harvey's office and was surprised to find it empty. "Another client meeting he didn't want me at?" He asked. As much as he attempted to keep his tone neutral, the barest hint of bitterness was there and judging by the cold look Donna gave him, she'd heard it too.

"He's closing up the last few details of the Moro case," she replied crisply, implying that the conversation was closed.

"Oh. Thanks, Donna. I'll get it done," Mike replied, feeling appropriately chastised by her tone. Harvey was not purposely keeping him in the dark and had actually not pulled any such stunts for a good long month.

"I know you will."

He couldn't help but smile at her apparent faith in him. He had been late on a few files early in his new career and it had taken some time and extra hard work to restore that trust in both her and Harvey that he could do the work he was assigned in the time necessary.

Mike slid smoothly into his chair and already had a highlighter in his mouth as he pulled the first file off and began reading intently.

It only took him two hours to get the file finished, and then he proceeded onto the next one that Harvey needed. It was only when he glanced up at the clock that his eyes widened and he whispered, "Shit." He snatched up his files and hurried to Harvey's office. With five minutes to spare before the meeting, Harvey was just leaving when he spotted Mike and then he impatiently waited with his hand ready to take it.

"You like to cut your deadlines close," Harvey said to him as he strolled back into his office to toss the file on his desk.

"I take the Hollywood style approach to increase tension and drama. Bring the file not a second too soon, not a second too late."

"Except the bomb you have to diffuse is me and, unlike the movies, you'll still be alive through my wrath," Harvey replied.

Mike, however, could sense his amusement and he smiled with self-satisfaction. "It's a chance every hero has to take."

"Whoa, whoa, you're not the hero in this scenario. You're like Robin to my Batman. You play the whiny little sidekick, while I do the actual ass-kicking to save the day."

"Holy metaphor, Batman, that was bad!"

Harvey couldn't keep from smiling at that one.

"Are you both done strutting like peacocks?" Donna asked as she finally came out behind her desk and immediately headed towards study area where the meeting was being held

They fell into step behind her but Harvey grimaced at her back and said quietly into her ear, "I'm not a peacock! And Mike isn't either," Mike smirked proudly but it fell away as Harvey continued, "He doesn't dress well enough."

Mike momentarily considered punching Harvey in the shoulder for that one.

Just before entering the premise of the study area, Donna turned on her heel to face them. "Fine then. You're not a peacock." Harvey did not grin in triumph, but his very person radiated it as he met Donna's gaze. "You're a parrot. All pretty feathers and squawk without making much sense."

Harvey stared mock angrily at her and Mike practically had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out laughing. "Oh, Donna," Mike suddenly spoke up with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, "He also repeats the same phrases over and over."

Mike caught Harvey's pointed glare and he struggled to smother his grin. "Hey, Mike, I just realized that I need you to draft these bylaws by tomorrow morning," Harvey said to him and Mike gave him a pained look. Typically, Harvey was the one who did the bylaws – he claimed it was so Mike wouldn't leave any loopholes, but Mike was certain it was to keep his workload relatively light since Louis still insisted on dumping everything on him – and so now he was looking forward to a lonely night at the office.

_Damn_. "I hate writing bylaws."

"Maybe that'll teach you to keep your mouth shut."

"Fellas, the meeting's starting," Donna called to them, standing as if she'd been there all along.

Harvey and Mike finally stepped through the door, where they both fell under the severe gaze of Jessica Pearson. Mike tried to not shift uncomfortable but Harvey only shrugged when he stopped next to Donna. Mike stood on his other side.

After a moment's pause in which Jessica looked around the room to be sure she was the center of attention. "Now, as you all know, we represent the Hope Foundation, which caters to underprivileged children in an effort to promote their education; they are hosting a fundraiser this weekend, Saturday at 6:30pm. I expect you all to be there."

"The associates as well?" Louis Litt asked and Jessica nodded at him.

"The associates, the paralegals, everyone who represents this firm, is expected to be there," Jessica replied.

Mike happened to notice Greg and Kyle smirking and nodding as if they had been invited into the VIP box at the Super Bowl. He kept from groaning aloud that they would be there, in all likelihood, to make snide remarks about his inevitably cheap tux. Saturday night was going to suck.

Some of the partners nodded at the announcement and were already turning to file out the door when Jessica spoke again.

"Ah, ah, ah. You're not allowed to go yet. This fundraiser comes with a little twist." Her eyes were sparkling with knowing and amusement, which made Mike's stomach twinge in nervousness. "The event is a zombie walk."

A stunned silent followed this, broken only by a quiet "yes!" All eyes turned to Donna and she beamed at Harvey. "I participated in a zombie walk for the human society last year."

Jessica nodded at her, clearly pleased with her response. "I thought we might shake things up a little bit. I expect you all in full costume and at the north end of Central Park. at 6:30. You may leave."

"Ah crap," Harvey said and Mike raised an eyebrow at the exasperated expression on his boss' face. However, he noticed Harvey's lips were pulled in an almost indiscernible smile.

Donna had turned to the both of them with a proud smile. "You'll be happy to know, I attended my last walk as a dead lawyer. Brief case and all."

"Good for you," Harvey replied and turned toward the door everyone was filing out of. Mike almost ran into him when he came to an abrupt stop and then turned on Donna. "That would explain the disappearance of my brief case last year and how it turned up at my desk on Monday."

Donna's jaw dropped in shock and she put a hand to her mouth. "What makes you think I had anything to do with that?" She walked passed them with a pleased smile and Mike could have sworn she was swinging her hips more than usual.

Harvey watched her go, frowning – Mike was almost certain his boss _was_ focused on that ass, but it was difficult to tell – but Mike could tell that he didn't have his heart into it. Only Donna could put that sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Harvey once again started to leave and Mike followed him. They were almost at the juncture Mike would take to get to his cubicle when Harvey said, "You better make sure your entire Saturday is free and clear."

Mike practically skidded to a halt on his way back to his desk when he ran to catch up with Harvey. "Well, yeah, I'll be there. It's at 6:30, I'll see you there at six."

He was astonished when his boss chuckled and shook his head. "You don't understand. You need to be available at any time. We're Donna's new project."

Mike felt his mouth go dry and he stopped short of heading into the office to look at Donna. Though she appeared to be completely engrossed in her work, she glanced over at him with a conspiratorial wink. He darted into the office and walked over to where Harvey was choosing a record.

"You mean…."

"Yep," Harvey replied. There was no mistake that Harvey was smiling now. Or he was at least as close to a smile as he could get.

"Oh dear God," Mike said, trying desperately not to think about how doomed he must be when he had to play dress up with Donna like some living Barbie doll.

He was startled out of his imagination when Harvey slapped the file for the threatened bylaws against his chest. He managed to snatch it before all the paper could fall out.

Harvey smirked at him. "Remember, on my desk by tomorrow morning."

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><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed! I intend to have the second chapter up soon! =D<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Okay, to start this chapter, thank you Bloo98, Charlotte Thornton, and Elerrina Star for the feedback. I very much appreciated hearing from you. =) And thank you, those of you who favored or alerted this story.  
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**Second, I am not a big fan of either Jenny or Rachel. So they will either be absent from my fictions or not portrayed in the most flattering light. =p So far, all they do is get Mike into trouble and unreasonably complicate his life, which I find silly.**

**I do not own Suits.  
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**Chapter 2**

"You can't see me at all today?" Jenny asked Mike over the phone and he could hear the faint note of irritation in her voice. "I make the effort to see you!"

"I told you last night, Harvey said I had to keep my entire Saturday free and clear. Besides, I saw you last night," Mike replied. He was becoming less patient as the conversation wore on now that this was the third time. He knew Jenny was smart but she was just didn't understand that you could not interpret Harvey's words loosely.

"Yeah, but I had to be up early for research. I was hoping you might come down and have lunch. Maybe coffee instead; it'll be quick!"

Mike closed his eyes and articulated his words carefully. "I'm sorry, Jenny, I can't. I have to spend my entire evening with Donna and Harvey. You have to understand that it's important I never wind up on Donna's bad side. She's scary."

"Jesus Christ, grow a backbone, Michael," Jenny said and hung up.

"I have," he muttered at his phone and sighed heavily. After tonight, it seemed he would spend the next few days placating Jenny with flowers and dinners. Then they would get to the final step of make-up sex and then eventually the cycle would begin anew. Sometimes he really wished he was single.

He did wish Harvey would text him and tell him when they were going to show up, but since Donna was in charge, he wasn't sure if Harvey knew himself. So while he waited, he decided his apartment should be swept up a little to avoid Harvey's comments about its state of cleanliness.

Eventually he received a text from Harvey: '_We'll be there in 15.'_

Mike glanced at the clock and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was just approaching 1:30. He would never have made it back to receive them if he'd bowed to Jenny's wishes. He congratulated himself on, not only growing a backbone but being _right_, and then quickly tried to finish mopping the floor of his kitchen.

Just a few minutes after 1:30, Mike heard the knocking at his door. He wiped his hands on his jeans in a gesture of nervousness that he could not quite understand himself and then he answered.

Harvey was leaning against the door wearing his black leather jacket, a tan pair of pants, and a ruby colored shirt. Donna was wearing a vibrant blue running jacket, a dark blue shirt, and the rattiest pair of jeans he had ever seen, with rips and splotches of different colors of something all over, and her hair was pulled up in a nice pony tail.

His boss smirked at him and said, "Your turn."

"Hi, Mike," Donna said and then she bustled into the apartment. "Oh look, Harvey, the puppy cleaned up. I believe that's twenty dollars you owe me." Donna stood blocking Harvey's pathway with her hand held out insistently.

Harvey pulled his wallet out with a sigh and a mock glare at Mike. "You're supposed to be a slob! I remember wading through knee deep pile of laundry when I was here last."

Mike cocked his head as he grabbed a jacket. "I'm sorry, did you want some cheese with your wine? That last time was a surprise visit and after telling me you expected to find the trash compactor monster here, I thought I would avoid that this time. I can never make you – what are you doing?"

The older lawyer had flopped down on his couch and leaned back with his hands behind his head. Harvey smiled knowingly at him and nodded towards Donna, "Making myself comfortable."

Mike whipped his head toward Donna and he thought his jaw hit the floor; she already had a drawer of his dresser opened wide and she was sorting through the pile of jeans and t-shirts.

"What are you doing? You can't just go through my things!"

"Oh, please, Mike. I've found worse in Harvey's drawers," she replied.

"Like what?" Harvey called to her from the couch and he had look of both surprise and curiosity.

She failed to answer him and instead unfolded one of Mike's t-shirts – a black shirt with an ice blue dragon on it – before she dropped it and picked up a ragged pair of jeans. "Have you updated your wardrobe since high school? Here, try these on; make sure they fit." She threw him the jeans.

He stared at them as though they were an alien artifact, but when she slapped her hands together and gave him a hard glare, he began to feel his feet shuffle. A few minutes later, he took off the jeans when he'd come back after Donna declared they were too short in the leg. Harvey had smirked at him and reminded him that the entire firm would be there and, no matter how ridiculous they would all be dressed, he would still look like an idiot.

After the second pair of short jeans, Harvey glanced over at Donna and asked, "Does he really need to have bloodstains on his legs? Then we might actually find a pair he can wear!"

She was scowling at Mike as if he deliberately intended to throw a wrench in her plans, but she said, "It might look weird but then you may be right: no one will notice."

"Yeah. Besides, I know you're not throwing bloodstains on that jacket."

"I have one more pair," Mike threw in hopefully.

"You're not going to get me to put fake blood on my clothes," Harvey declared, the barest hint of a smile on his face, but Mike saw a twinkle in his eye that he only saw when Harvey was needling people.

"Of course not! I will be doing it," she replied, giving him a winning smile at him.

"Over my dead body!"

"It _is_ a zombie walk, Harvey. That can be arranged. Go try on the pants, Mike, and this t-shirt," Donna said.

Mike staggered back when he just managed to catch the black t-shirt. Once in the bathroom he opened the t-shirt up and groaned. It was his Pink Floyd _Dark Side of the Moon_ t-shirt. He would have to talk her out of his one. "Donna, I will not wear this shirt," he said, coming out to face her with grim-faced determination.

Harvey looked over at him and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, a _cool_ shirt. He _does_ have taste."

Donna glanced over at him and gave him an exasperated look, "That's the shirt you're going to covet? It looks ten years old."

"Well, yeah, but it's _Pink Floyd_. I can't ruin this."

"I can't believe I'm doing this, but I agree with him," Harvey said, with a serious expression. "We're talking _Dark Side of the Moon_ and Pink Floyd. To destroy it would be sacrilege!"

"Are you serious?" Donna said and she threw a volatile look at Harvey. "Those shirts are a dime a dozen!"

"Pick something else."

"All right, fine. I was going to have you go as a stupid rock n' roll fan, but I didn't realize you would be a super-sensitive fan boy instead," she replied, with a roll of her eyes and she sat back on her feet from her position on the floor. "So, what are you going to wear?"

There was a silence that actually stretched for several minutes. Finally, Harvey supplied, "He could be a cubicle zombie."

"The entire firm is going to be there," Donna replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "They'll _all_ probably be going as zombie lawyers."

"I didn't say zombie lawyer. For one, Mike would have to have a nice suit. Those crappy skinny ties and cheap pants don't count."

"Thanks, Harvey," Mike replied with a toothy smile.

"He could be an office drone. Like those poor saps out of Office Space. That would work, wouldn't it?" Harvey asked, staring over at Donna from where he continued to lie on the couch.

Mike gaped at him. "You're talking about sacrificing my business clothes! I thought you wanted me to look nice."

"I will buy you a damned suit if it means dispatching those crappy clothes you call business attire," Harvey said to him. The associate studied him for several seconds, trying to scrutinize anything from his boss' face, but it was as inscrutable now as it was during work.

"I'll hold you to that," Mike said with an accusing finger.

"Donna, don't I always keep my promises?"

"Always," she replied, without hesitation. While he and Harvey were in their winless staring match, she had already pulled open his closet doors and was looking through his suits, much to Mike's exasperation.

"Eww…these pants have lint all over them and they're faded. You need a nicer pair of black pants," she said and she threw them at Mike. She started going through his shirts next and she frowned over every one of them, trying to pick which one would be disposed of next. "You know, his shirts are actually okay"

"He has three white shirts. One of those can go," Harvey said.

Mike gave him a glaring look. "Can you even see from over there?"

Harvey looked at him with irritation and said, "You think I can't tell the quality of those shirts? They're all crappy! You need at least one vertical thin-stripe shirt, buddy. Kill the white! Now, where is that white, green, and silver tie? Kill that thing too."

"_That_ tie is a good color combination!"

"I'd agree with you if the green were a bit darker, but that's a Christmas color green. Terrible."

Donna pulled out the tie in question and she winced a little. "I've seen Louis wear far uglier ties, if that makes you feel better, but yes…that's your worst tie. Without a doubt." After folding up the shirt and putting the tie on top of it, she handed it over to Mike and he, once again, trudged into the bathroom.

A few minutes later he came out and Donna looked at him with a pleased smile. "Yeah, you'll make a great cubicle zombie. Great idea, Harvey."

"He looks halfway presentable. I don't think I'll be embarrassed to be seen walking with him," Harvey replied, but Mike could see the barest hint of a smile. "Now get your shoes. Oh, you might need an overnight bag."

"An overnight bag? I thought this was just down at Central Park?"

"We don't know how long this is going to take. Besides, we're going back to my condo to eat pizza and watch Shaun of the Dead. That's a rules."

"Stuffed crust pizza?"

"Sure, puppy, we'll get an entire pizza just for you," Harvey replied in a patronizing tone and a roll of his eyes.

"All right, fine. I mean, I realize this is just a cover so that you don't have to worry about the monsters under your bed, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same."

Harvey scowled at Mike then looked over at Donna pleadingly. "Can I punch him, please? He's asking for it."

"Both of you behave or you're grounded," she said as she tossed Mike his messenger bag and then went over to the couch and sat down after Harvey moved his legs.

They finally made it out of Mike's apartment and when he glanced at the watch on his wrist, he was surprised to find nearly an hour had passed since Donna and Harvey had come over. It was going to be a long evening. They walked nearly half a block until Harvey diverted into the street to the drive side of a black sports car and unlocked it. Mike could only stare.

"You drove this to my apartment?"

"Yeah, trust me, I was worried leaving it out here for extended periods too," Harvey said with a suspicious scowl as he glanced around at the dilapidated buildings.

"It's a mustang!"

"A '67 Mustang. It's also the crappiest car I've got, so it serves as my errands car."

Mike practically groaned in amazement as he climbed into the back seat. Trust Harvey to make a mustang out to be like a soccer mom's car. And even termed as his "crappiest" it was still sleek and rust-free; the black paint job looked a little faded from the elements, but there was not a scratch on it. He catalogued a mental note in his head: _One day, I will have a car like this that I can run errands in_.

"This is a classic. Any normal person would be hiding this in his garage."

Harvey glared at him from the rearview mirror, "Are you implying I should be running my errands in my Porsche?"

Mike stared back at him with an almost wistful look and he sighed aloud, "If only I could have that dilemma."

"Will you guys please stop talking about cars? You're boring me to tears," Donna said, banging her head against the back of her head rest.

"Hey, at least I'm not talking about the car show I saw last weekend," Harvey replied, grinning at her rather mischievously.

"You better not or I might have to push you out your own car door," she said.

"So, where are we going now?" Mike asked from behind Harvey, straining against seat belt to be closer to the front.

"I need to pick up my dry cleaning and then we're going to stop and get something to eat. You didn't eat, did you?"

"No."

"Of course you didn't."

Mike sighed and abruptly changed the subject, "All right, I'm going as a cubicle zombie. That's really specific. What are you going as, Donna?"

"Just your average streetwalker zombie," she replied but it was said with a note of unhappiness.

"You're not going as something you unique?"

"I _wanted_ to try a witch zombie or even go as some sort of zombie princess, but I didn't like the costumes at the stores. They were all just sexy."

"What's wrong with that?" Harvey asked, though he never took his eyes off the road. "I would have liked that." Donna slapped his arm. "Hey, I'm driving here!"

"Oh, that's a bummer, Donna. You could have gotten a black robe."

"A plain black robe? That's _boring_. It'd be as lame as wearing a bed sheet and pretending to be a ghost. No, I'd practically be wearing nothing and I am not that kind of girl."

"You could put on one of those Harry Potter outfits and be that red-headed girl," Harvey suggested. "What was her name? I didn't read the books, you just dragged me to the movies."

"You mean Ginny Weasely?"

"Whatever her name is."

"Why would a Ginny Weasely out of school be wearing her student uniform? That's another Catholic School Girl motif," she said, with an odd look at Harvey.

"Except far less sexy," Harvey said with an equally grim expression. "You'd have that damn robe on."

"All right, Mike, to put it simply: he's the reason why I can't be anything but your random streetwalker zombie."

Mike saw Harvey roll his eyes.

"So what's Harvey going as?"

"Your random streetwalker," Harvey said, as if it was obvious.

"I'm the only one going as something unique? That's pretty lame," Mike said. "Surely the best closer in the city can be cleverer than that."

"And I would agree if this weren't a damn zombie walk!"

"Well, Harvey, you already said you didn't want to look like a lame zombie," Donna replied.

"I just want to look better than Louis. I can do that without effort."

There was silence in the car for a moment and then Donna glanced over toward Harvey with a knowing smile slowly growing on her face. He caught her staring and he raised his eyebrows and with worry in his eyes. "Why am I developing a terrible sense of dread?"

Donna glanced back at Mike, "Do you know what Harvey's going to be for the office Halloween Party."

Harvey's eyes grew widened and he gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles went white and he glowered at Donna. "No!"

"Oh yes. You would, without a doubt, be the coolest person there."

"No! I'm not going to let you bloody up my clothes!"

"You spent ten dollars on that shirt!"

"I'm talking the leather jacket here. You are not going to bloody that up."

"I don't have to bloody it up."

He simply continued to glare at her and she smiled triumphantly before she turned back to Mike. "He's going as Indiana Jones."

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Think Harvey should go as a zombie Indiana Jones?<strong>

**Thank you so much for the feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: A nice long chapter. Enjoy! =) And thank you very much for the reviews!  
><strong>

**I do not own Suits.  
><strong>

**Chapter 3**

Mike dug into his cheeseburger as if it would be his last meal on Earth and Harvey stared at him, until his associate finally noticed and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to stare, Harvey? It's rude."

"Didn't your mother teach you to eat? Do you intentionally starve yourself? Are you bulimic? Are you coming back to my apartment to vomit in the toilet? Honestly, Mike, you're skinny enough as it is," he said. Donna, who was sitting next to Harvey, gave him a light shove on Mike's behalf.

"Thank you, Donna," Mike said to her and smiled, but then Donna trained her eyes on him.

"He could have said it nicer, but consider this a notice that you should definitely eat breakfast in the morning."

"I'm sorry. I forget to sometimes."

Harvey gave him a half-lidded, dull-eyed stare. "With that brain of yours? Although considering you still manage to forget your phone…"

"I remember what I _read._That doesn't necessarily mean I can't forget other things," Mike replied with more than a little bite to his voice. This was not the first time he had said this to either of them and so he decided to abruptly switch subjects. "Hey, Harvey, thanks to you, I now have a costume idea for the Halloween party."

"Congratulations. Going as a cubicle zombie? It suits you."

Mike did not comment on this, but Harvey watched as he got a mischievous smile on his face, to which Harvey narrowed his eyes at. The older lawyer glanced over at Donna, who shrugged her shoulders in confusion and indifference and then he turned back to Mike, grabbing some french-fries while he thought it over. Suddenly his eyes widened and they just as quickly turned murderous. "Don't you dare!"

"I think it would be fitting," Mike replied, biting his lip to keep from laughing, even as Harvey gave him a glare so harsh, the younger lawyer half wondered if he was trying to power his glare enough to kill him.

"All right, I'm a little lost. What is he thinking of going as?" Donna asked, staring very hard at Harvey as though she were hoping to decipher just what precisely the wheels in his head were turning over.

"He's thinking of going as Junior," Harvey said to her and Donna pinched her eyes into a horrible wince.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because it's a readily available costume. It wouldn't be that hard to piece together and Harvey would still get to snipe at me."

"If you insist on dressing up as Junior, I'm going to go as something else and then no one will respect you," Harvey replied.

"Please, Mike, do not persist," Donna said, placing a hand in the middle of the table as though to keep his attention. "Harvey has _never_ dressed up before. Jessica can't even get him to comply, though almost all of the other partners do. If he feels comfortable as Indiana Jones, then let him do it alone."

"Aww…but it could be fun! Donna, you could go as Marion Ravenwood."

She smiled sweetly at him. "No."

Mike gaped and pouted, giving them both his wide, bright blue puppy eyes, but they had apparently developed an immunity to his charm because they both kept a neutral expression.

"I'll give you three reasons why I refuse to cooperate in your attempt to get a team costume going: One, it's a team costume! I let you be my associate and that's all that I would prefer to do together, minus a few drink outings and victory dinners. Just listen to Donna, I hardly ever dress up for this crappy function, which means, she and I haven't done a team costume. Two, I refuse to dress up in a team costume that would imply you are my son. Not happening! Three, I refuse to acknowledge they ever made that movie, which means that Junior was never born in my reality. Tough luck," Harvey said, and then he turned his attention to digging through the bag to pull out more french-fries.

"That's cold."

"That's life."

Mike began picking at the french-fries with far less energy than he had before and the rest of the conversation dried up.

"So, are we done here? Then let's go. I still need to pick up my suits from the dry cleaners," Harvey said. He looked down at his hands with disgust and then he got a napkin, wetted it down, and wiped his hands down. Donna caught Mike's eye and they both giggled as they cleaned up their place.

"And what's so funny?" Harvey asked.

"You," Donna simply said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a borderline hypochondriac, but it's not about getting sick, it's about your precious suits."

"It's a good think you know better. If you think I'm going to touch my suits after I just ate greasy fries and a burger, then you're mistaken"

"You'd be touching the hangars, Harvey. And they're in plastic wrapping anyway."

"Can't be too careful. Besides, I can't leave grease all over my steering wheel either. Nothing wrong with cleanliness."

"You might take it a step too far," Donna replied, with a sad shake of her head as they threw their trash away.

"Not in my profession."

"I guess I shouldn't complain too much, as long as my bonuses stay where they are."

"Exactly. My style works."

It was only their way to the dry cleaners for Harvey's suits that they heard a giggle in the back and Harvey glanced in his rearview mirror to see Mike biting his lip to contain his laughter. "What's so funny?"

"I happened to be thinking of other group costumes we could try years down the road…"

"Assuming you're still working for me," Harvey said.

Donna punched him again in the arm and said, "Oh please, Harvey, you wouldn't have the heart to fire him."

"Not if he did drugs again and as long as he continues this stellar work ethic," Harvey replied, his eyes flashing, but then he raised his eyes again to the rearview mirror to see Mike giving them both an irritated look. "Okay, you can go on."

"Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to interrupt?" At this, Harvey opened his mouth to reply again Donna grabbed his arm and squeezed it in warning. Deciding it was wiser to stay quiet, Harvey refocused his attention back on the road. "Anyway, I was thinking of other group costumes but it was difficult because there really aren't very many well known red-heads. Sorry, Donna, but it's true."

"I was going to change that one day, but alas, I got stuck in New York working for a lawyer of all people."

"We know you would've rocked out in Hollywood," Mike said with wide smile. His grin grew wider when he thought he heard Harvey mutter under his breath, "Suck up."

"So I thought of red-head characters. Do either of you know Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog?"

"What?" Harvey asked.

"Aww…that was a cute little film. Quirky and odd, but still cute. We should make Harvey watch it."

"We should! And I think Harvey could definitely be Captain Hammer."

"What the hell? Since when did we start on this?"

"That character might be right up your alley, Harvey," Donna said with a teasing grin. "I would pay to see you sing 'Everyone's a Hero.'"

"It's a musical? Then hell no!"

"I know you watched Chicago, so what could you possibly have against this film?"

"Chicago was full of hot women who dominated over their men. That's something I can relate to, especially when they're dressed so scantily."

Donna huffed and Mike was trying very hard to keep from laughing, but he tried to divert it back to the real subject that he brought up before, "Well, the girl is a red-head and Donna would look great! She'd be a great Penny."

"I'd be okay. I'm not quite as dedicated to community service as Penny was and she came off as a damsel in distress a bit too much."

"Yeah, Mike, we already discussed this. Donna's a better Wonder Woman."

"I thought you said I was a goddess?"

Harvey looked at her with innocent eyes and asked, "Why can't you be both?"

"You better not look at me like that again. Mike is the puppy, not you. He can get away with it."

"Those weren't puppy eyes, but no matter. I'm going to get my laundry. I can trust you not to grand theft auto my car, right?" She smiled innocently. "Good."

"I may have to seriously consider a Dr. Horrible costume, because that would rock. I always liked those goggles," Mike said to Donna, who was holding her head on her hand as she rested her elbow on the console in between her and Harvey's seats.

"Hmm…maybe. Only if the other associates know what you're talking about and think it's cool, too, but I would hedge my bets that they don't. I'd pick something a little safer. You might always consider doing your zombie again. That's always in style," Donna replied to him with a strange whimsical smile.

"You're talking about the Halloween Party like it's some sort of fashion show."

"When it's an office party, you bet your ass it's a fashion show. You _have_ to look good – clever, witty. Why do you think Harvey doesn't bother dressing up for it usually?"

"I kinda figured it was not his sort of thing. Just the way he's moaned and groaned about the zombie walk and then the Halloween party implies that he doesn't like these sorts of functions."

"He doesn't. Not even the tux events. He hates the social hoops he's expected to jump through for these sorts of functions and now that he's the best closer, he doesn't normally have to worry about them anymore. However, now he's going to do them for you. You _have_ to look good, Mike. We'll discuss a good costume later. Don't worry, we'll think of something that won't irritate Harvey's sensibilities," Donna said to him.

The associate's face virtually collapsed as they continued talking about the Halloween Office party. At first he had been excited when he had heard about it since he was certain he could come up with a great costume – it was easier than trying to make an impression in a tux – but now as Donna talked about it, he realized the pressure to actually look like something worthwhile began to crank up. It seemed ridiculous that he had to worry about looking cool in a costume.

"Now, don't act like someone stole your bone, pup. You'll look just fine and, in the end, no one will probably remember anyway. You just happen to be in the unique position of being Harvey's associate, something which already has you running through the ringer with the other associates. You just need to look the best since you are considered the best of the best," she told him with a conspiratorial wink.

"Can I go as a man in black then?"

She blinked and then grinned at him. "That could work. You would look awfully sharp and you could easily pass it as a costume."

"They probably would just mistake me for secret service."

"Still a better looking costume than what half the associates would be wearing," she said.

They both jumped when Harvey opened the back door behind his seat and hung his suits on a clothes hook, and then slid into the driver's seat. "You both seemed to be in serious conversation and from the look of the puppy, I would say he was worried about being forced on a stage in front of the firm to do a solo routine. So what is it?" Harvey asked turning his car again and looking over his shoulder for traffic.

"Well, Donna and I were talking about the office Halloween Party. She said it was important that I wear a good costume; that I look 'cool,'" Mike replied and it was in a tone that suggested he wished Harvey to alleviate his fears. But Harvey _never_ alleviated fears. Usually his advice ran along the lines of 'take it like a man' or sometimes merely added to his fears, so he was surprised at the answer he got.

"Yes, it is important. I don't think 'cool' is the right word. You really just have to look good. Think of it as being very similar to that associate's dinner over the summer that you had to host. Many of the associates will treat it as a silly little gathering, but it may be even _more_ important than the suits events that we often have to go to, because you will be in attendance as well as the partners. It's a singular opportunity to expand your connections and get noticed and, therefore, you must look, well, at least not stupid." He glanced at Mike in the rear view mirror and noticed that the puppy had more worry and fear in his eyes and he sighed aloud. "Listen, Mike, don't worry about it, okay? I guarantee you, whatever costume you pick, you'll look better than half the people there. Take Louis for example: he went to an office party dressed up as, I think, Achilles." Here Mike cracked up laughing and Harvey smirked at him. "Exactly! He's still managed to make it to Junior Partner and he dressed up as Achilles. You'll look better than Louis."

"He should know he will now," Donna said with a pleased smile. "I volunteered us to help him find something good."

"Of course you did. I knew you'd drag me into this too," he said with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

"Well, he's already had one good idea at the very least."

"Which is?"

"A man in black."

Harvey's eyes lit up and his expression turned into that of a thoughtful frown. "Agent M then? That's not bad. You'd at least have the good excuse of wearing a suit. Get you some black shades; you'd look fine. I say run with that – in a nice suit."

"Purchased by Harvey," Donna said, staring at Harvey with a beaming smile.

"You seem rather eager to spend my money, and on the puppy."

"You paid for his associates dinner and you just likened the party to that," Donna replied, looking back at Mike with raised eyebrows and he grinned at her in return.

"That's true. I guess that means I owe Mike two suits now." He sighed again and said, "Mike, we're going shopping within the next week. Hopefully during business hours because I'd rather not do it over the weekend."

"Thanks, Harvey and thank you, Donna. I really appreciate your support."

"That's what comes with having a puppy," Harvey replied, "You have to take responsibility for it and you have to train it."

Mike nodded and smiled and fought desperately to keep from saying: _"__You__care.__"_

Twenty minutes later found them walking through Harvey's door and Donna wasted no time. "All right, Harvey, pull out your costume. Mike and I will evaluate whether you'll pass as Indiana Jones."

He groaned aloud, but dutifully walked into his bedroom and then he shouted back at them, "Just sit on the couch and wait for me; I'd rather you not root through my things."

"You searched my apartment," Mike called to him.

His voice just barely managed to carry out to them from his closet: "No, I didn't! I sat on your couch. Donna searched your apartment!"

Mike turned to her and asked, "You've already searched Harvey's condo, haven't you?"

"Dear, I helped him _move_ into this condo. I know all of his secrets."

"Such as?" Mike asked, his head cocked curiously and with an innocent smile on his face.

Donna gave him a patronizing smile in return but said not a word and Mike dropped the subject in resignation.

It wasn't long before Donna snatched up the TV remote and started surfing the channels, but they found nothing more interesting than House Hunters International, but it wasn't long before Harvey came out and Mike jumped.

"Holy shit! You _do_ look like Indiana Jones. I could believe you spend your weekends tomb raiding. Except your jacket should be brown," he said, but his mouth was hanging open as he stared.

"If you think I'm going to shell out the money for a brown leather jacket, just to complete this damn costume, you're not as smart as I thought you were," Harvey replied. There were certain details that were not quite right but he had the tan button up shirt, the khakis were probably the easiest part of the costume, and he had a black leather jacket. But, most impressively, he had the dark brown hat and an actual bull whip, though not of the same style .

"Where did you get a bull whip? Actually, _why_ do you even have one?" Mike asked and then his eyes widened and he said, "Wait, don't answer that."

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I was sent to Australia on business once and I found a place that sold authentic cow-hide bullwhips. I had to buy one!"

"See, Mike? Even Harvey can't grow out of his boyhood fantasies."

"Bull whips are cool! That Indiana Jones is associated with them is a bonus," Harvey said with a pleased smirk and raised eyebrows

"Glad to know you're human in some way," Mike said to him. "You think they'll allow you downtown with that thing?"

"I considered myself well-versed in New York City's laws, Mike, and I can't remember a single ordinance banning whips or requiring a license to wear one," Harvey replied, with more than little bite of sarcasm.

"I'm sure he can wear it, but using it is another issue altogether. That's a shame, too, because I would love to see you threaten some of the associates with that thing. That might motivate them," Donna said.

"Harvey the slave driver," the older lawyer said, rubbing his chin as if he were thinking about it. "It's got a nice ring to it. I might just take that up with Jessica."

"As long as you don't use that thing on me. Otherwise, I have a list of associates I would suggest who might need the extra motivation," Mike said, staring longingly at the whip that was now lying on the coffee table. "Any chance you can loan it to me for thirty seconds at the park?"

Harvey narrowed his eyes at him and he snatched the whip back up. "Now, even as much as I would enjoy kicking their asses, I'm afraid I can't let you touch this, pup. You might actually use it."

"Just to intimidate them! I wouldn't crack it," Mike said, screwing his face up into his classic puppy dog expression.

Harvey wouldn't have it and he just chuckled, "I would love to watch you crack it. You would hit yourself first."

"Enough, boys, we have two hours until we need to start heading down to Central Park. Time to start putting make-up on."

Both gave her a wary look and Mike asked, "Donna, do you _really_ need two hours to put make-up on us."

"If you want to look good and not lame," she shot back, putting her hands on her hip and giving them a haughty expression.

"Mike, never underestimate how long it takes a woman to put make-up on. Us notwithstanding," Harvey said his face drawn in resignation that he would also have to be put through the torture of having make-up applied to him.

Donna glared. "Well, Harvey, since you're so enthusiastic, you get to be the first to be zombified. Come on!" She grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket and proceeded to drag him to his master bath.

"Hey, there's a perfectly good half bath down here. You don't have to go to my bathroom." Mike couldn't keep from laughing at the pathetic whine in Harvey's voice, but he did give his boss a sympathetic look as she opened the door and marched him in. The associate watched from the doorway as Harvey gave Donna a cross look and then he took off his hat, setting it carefully on the toilet in his bathroom and then shed his coat and tossed it to Mike. "Put that on my bed. All right, let's get this torture over with."

Donna cracked her fingers and studiously examined Harvey's face and he patiently stood there, looking right back into her eyes as though they were in a staring contest, and then Donna broke out her make-up and Harvey closed his eyes. At first Mike watched with interest as the secretary applied a white foundation all across his face and down his neck, on his arms and hands, but after a while he grew bored and went back to find something to watch on TV. He settled on an NCIS marathon and was watching the show with growing disinterest when he heard voices from the bathroom and he went to investigate.

"You're looking pretty good, Harvey, although at the moment it looks more like you were attacked by a vampire."

"Whose fault is that? I thought you were going to make me look like a good zombie."

"You _will_ be a good zombie, but these things take some effort. Once I apply the details, you'll look fantastic."

"Just don't make me look so good that someone mistakes me for the real thing and shoots me."

"Ahah. Don't think the thought didn't cross my mind last year when I went as that zombie lawyer. I thought someone would shoot me on principle for _being_ a lawyer."

"Well, great, two reasons to get shot."

"Harvey, please stop talking about getting shot. You're generating bad vibes and it's making me nervous."

He winced but simply nodded in response to her.

"Mike! How is he looking?"

The associate blinked and cocked his head. "He looks like he hasn't slept in years."

"So, generally how you look on a daily basis," Harvey said in an even tone and nodded at him.

"You're the one who gives me so much work that I can't sleep," Mike shot back.

"That's life as a first year, pup. Get used to it."

"Okay, Harvey, shut up! I'm trying to work here," Donna said as she meticulously began applying black to parts around his nose. "And for god's sake, will you just relax your face!"

"It is relaxed."

Mike laughed as Donna gave Harvey a glare he couldn't see because his eyes were closed. "I have seen you sleep and your face is definitely not crunched into a permanent glower. Now quit pinching your eyes. That's better. Don't you roll your eyes at me!"

"Ah, geez, woman, I think you got some of that crap in my eye." Mike was impressed that even as Harvey rubbed at his eye, he seemed to be careful not to disturb the make-up she'd already put on him.

"That's what you get for making this difficult," Donna snapped at him. She glanced at Mike who was still leaning in the doorway and she said, "I bet you Mike's going to be far better at staying still than you." She stared at Mike as though she was daring her to doubt him and he nodded vigorously to assure her.

"Because he's afraid of you. I know better," Harvey replied.

She sighed wistfully. "Sometimes I long for the days when you were still afraid of me."

Harvey snorted and replied, "Christ, that was practically a lifetime ago. And no you don't. If everyone were afraid of you, you wouldn't have any friends."

"That's…actually probably very true," Donna said with a wistful look on her face and a surprisingly bitter voice.

Harvey cracked his eyes open ever so slightly to look at her. "I didn't really mean that."

"It makes no difference," she said, smiling at him reassuringly and silence fell over the pair of them again, causing Mike to draw away to watch TV. It wasn't more than ten minutes later when Donna shouted, "Mike, get in here! Let me know how Harvey looks."

He got up with a great sigh and walked up the stairs to Harvey's bedroom, though he was curious as to just how good Donna got the older lawyer to look and he peered into the bathroom. A gray, bloody hand suddenly grabbed for his shirt and he jumped back with a yelp of terror, falling over backwards onto his ass before he heard the amused chuckle and he got a hold of himself.

"That was almost too easy, Donna," Harvey said to her before he finally stepped out; her laughter trailed behind him.

Mike scowled at him from where he was sitting on the floor and then got to his feet and more closely examined Harvey. While Donna did not have the means to make the skin look shredded, he had leaks and drips of blood all over his face and arms and there was a particularly bloody, dark wound on his forehead which was dripping all the way down his nose. The young associate grimaced, still embarrassed that he had been taken in by Harvey's act, but he nodded satisfactorily and said, "I have to admit. You look pretty grisly and terrifying."

"All he needs are some white contacts and then he'll really look dead."

"Remember what I said before about looking too good," Harvey said and then he began shuffling down the stairs and holding his hands out carefully in front of him.

"In character already, Harvey?"

"I'm trying very hard not to let _any_ of this drip on the floor or my furniture," he replied with a glare at Donna, made about twice as potent with all the fake blood on his face. He smirked when he realized that she too seemed to be a little wary of him with the make-up on.

"All right, Mike, it's your turn."

"How come Harvey doesn't have any blood on his clothes?"

She rolled her eyes and said in a caricature of Harvey, "I don't want that stuff dripping on my seats."

"I don't," Harvey called out from the living room.

"So he made me promise to bloody us up when we get to the park."

Mike chuckled and said, "All right, do what you want to make me look good." And, just like Harvey, he shut his eyes and did his best to relax his face. Now that he was the one on the receiving end, the time seemed to fly by. He sneezed a few times when Donna's brush tickled his nose and Donna scolded him a few times for pinching his face whenever the make-up bothered his skin.

"Wow, you are a _much_ better recipient than Harvey. I should get you to teach him to stand this still."

"I think it's too late for that, Donna. You know what they say, 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks,'" Mike replied with a pleased grin.

She giggled appreciatively but said, "It's only a good quip if Harvey heard it. I don't think he did."

"Well, now he won't drown me in briefs. Or bylaws," Mike replied with a slight grimace as he tried to keep still.

"He would get an earful from me if he did that." Mike cracked an eye open at her and she smiled. "Because it's the weekend. You're on your own during the work week."

He drew his line into a defeated smile. "Fair enough."

"Open your eyes!"

He almost recoiled at his own reflection. His skin looked even grayer and unhealthier than Harvey had, with a large amount of blood decorated around his mouth and dark circles around his eyes. There was less blood on him by far, but he still looked ready to hunt something down and eat it alive.

"All right, now go out there and scare Harvey."

"Pfft. That's not gonna happen."

"Jus go, Mike! I'm getting ready now. What's the time?"

Mike pulled out his phone as delicately as he could and stared at it. "Wow, it's already five."

"Half an hour then. All right, shoo, I need to do my make-up."

When Mike entered Harvey's line of sight from the top of the stairs to Harvey's bedroom, the lawyer casually flicked his eyes over to him and said, "You look hideous."

"In a good way, I hope," Mike said as he walked around Harvey's coffee table to sit on the couch next to them.

A wicked gleam appeared in Harvey's eye and he opened his mouth, undoubtedly ready to say something nasty – Mike was already cringing in anticipation – but then the lawyer's eyes flicked over to the bathroom where Donna still was and he said rather lamely, "You look good."

Mike couldn't help but smirk. "What did you say about not being afraid of Donna?"

"You'll understand someday, pup," Harvey replied and he returned back to watching the college football game, Texas vs. Oklahoma: 7 – 21. "What a crappy game."

"You can always change the channel, Harvey."

"To what?"

The associate didn't have an answer. Over the next hour, Harvey went on about half a dozen channel surfings and Texas scored three more touchdowns to Oklahoma's two, making it at least a decent match-up in the end.

"All right, boys, I'm ready."

Donna came out with the most blood yet, much of it trickling down her face and neck and running down her arms. She also had a large quantity around her mouth and she stumbled over to them with arms up, already acting in character.

"Hmm…I'd let you eat me," Harvey said to her.

She dropped her arms and gave him a stern frown, "You take the fun out of everything, Harvey." She glanced at the tv and asked, "Getting zombified by football?"

"Yeeesss," Mike said with a groan and then abruptly stood up. "Are we leaving then?"

Harvey nodded and with a heavy sigh, snapped the TV off and stood up. "Let's get this thing over with."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!<strong>

**And for those of you who haven't seen Dr. Horrible, do try to. It's cute. You can find it linked through on Hulu (it should be free) and it's also on Instant Queue for Netflix, for those of you who still have it. **

**Next chapter is the Zombie Walk! I'm going to try to have it out on Halloween, but I'm making no promises. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Whew. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter folks. =| This took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it is 28 pages. I hope you enjoy! Thank you, Charlotte Thornton, for the review! =)  
><strong>

**Chapter 4**

"I cannot believe I let you two talk me into this," Harvey said as he climbed out of his car which they had parked about five blocks from Central Park in an underground car garage. He glanced at the car next to him and sniffed haughtily, eyeing its doors as though he suspected the owner was particularly careless about dinging neighboring cars. But they had been lucky to get a spot at all as a steady stream of cars rolled through the garage trying to scout out hidden spots. He ducked back in to grab his brown felt fedora and, instead of jamming it on his head, he set it delicately and precisely.

"It's just a few hours," Mike said to him, smiling at Harvey's intent on looking his best even when he was covered in fake gore.

"I don't do costumes."

"You have to this time," Donna said, beaming at him. "Honestly, Harvey, live a little!"

"All of this is just a ruse set up by Jessica to get me to put cheap make-up on. She begs me every year to participate," he mumbled with a severe frown.

"Oh shit! You caught us," Donna replied.

His eyes brightened up and he peered over the car, but the assistant was giving him a bland stare and he sighed.

"You'll live," she said and ducked back in the car. When she stood up again, she stared around in surprise when she found them gone and then peered around the garage to find them already halfway towards the exit. "Boys, get back here! I have to put the finishing touches on."

Mike immediately faltered and started heading back to the car. Harvey kept going.

"No you don't," the older lawyer shot back at her.

"Harvey Specter, come back right now, or I'll spread a rumor around the firm that you're impotent!" Mike's eyes went wide and he practically choked, glancing from Harvey to Donna warily as though he was trying to decide whom he should be afraid of more. He backed away from both of them until he was on the other side of the car.

The older lawyer stopped instantly and turned around slowly. "You wouldn't! That's too mean, even for you!"

She narrowed her eyes in challenge and set her jaw in a truculent jut. "Try me."

Mike had to bite his fingers to keep his laughter contained, but he sobered up quickly when Harvey walked right up to Donna, close enough that he had to look down and she was looking up. He didn't think he had ever seen Harvey look so angry – and especially not at Donna – but she did not relent, yet he thought he saw a light blush on her cheeks. They were so close, Mike thought for an instant that they might kiss, but they only glared at each other with enough fury to charge the atmosphere around them.

"Umm…guys?"

They didn't appear to hear him and continued staring at each other. He thought Harvey may have said something to her – Donna looked as if her blush had deepened but it was difficult to tell. Harvey's eyes looked entirely too dark, but then, Mike thought, it might also be the light playing tricks.

"Hey over there," Mike said, waving his arm a little to see if he could get their attention. Still nothing.

He eyed them, wondering if they would break out of this staring match or whether they would wind up doing something else. If they had not moved in the next minute, he would go over there and separate them and remind them that they definitely had to show up at the zombie walk or Jessica might just fire them – or he would just leave them. That sounded like the safest option of the two.

Mike was just edging away when Donna broke the tension by smacking Harvey in the chest, letting it slide off and leaving an awful bloody mess and trail. She smirked up at him in triumph.

"Hey!"

Harvey snatched her bottle of fake blood, poured a liberal amount into his palm and slapped some on her shoulder, but she only giggled.

"I wasn't the one who didn't want blood on my clothes. You're only making me look better," she shot at him. He scowled but then his expression changed into a knowing smile, but then he caught the look on Donna's face. If Mike had any doubts that Donna was a goddess, they were banished when he was certain he could see thunderclouds in Donna's eye and she said, "I swear to God, Harvey, if you put that stuff in my hair, I will return the favor with enough fake blood so that your hair will be dirty and greasy for a week!"

He deflated. "You _are_ mean. A guy can't have some fun without you grievously injuring them."

"Oh, you can have fun with me, just expect payback to be tenfold," she said with a sweet smile on her face. He settled with putting more fake blood on his hand and dabbing her other shoulder, a little bit closer to her neck. "All right, give me that back. I need to stop you before you grope me in front of the pup."

"Like he can see," Harvey said, glancing at Mike over the car with a dastardly look in his eyes.

The associate raised his hands up in an innocent gesture and said, "I did not see anything, I did not _hear_ anything."

While Harvey was looking away, Donna had taken the opportunity to apply more blood and he suddenly jumped away.

"Damn you, woman! I didn't want blood on my khakis either!"

"C'mon, Harvey, Khakis are a dime a dozen. You can easily go buy another pair."

"You're talking as if I like to go shopping."

"You spent so much time looking for the perfect three-piece suits."

"And I've been with the same tailor for about six years now. What does that tell you?"

Donna sighed as she applied fake blood to her own jeans. "Tells me you're nothing more than the typical male."

Harvey huffed and walked over to the other side of the car where Mike was.

"Harvey, get back here. You're going to look strange with blood on the front of your legs but not on the back."

He just stood next to Mike and scowled at her, stubbornly refusing to make a single move, so she sighed and headed over to the other side of the car, poured out some more blood and slapped it on his leg as soon as she rounded the car.

"Gah! Now look who's groping."

"I didn't grope you," Donna said, looking up at him from where she crouched with an amused grin. She threw more blood on his other leg and he continued to glare at her.

"I say you did!"

"Mike didn't see anything."

The associate was pointedly staring everywhere but at them. "Yes, I didn't see or hear anything," he said. "But please don't grope me."

Donna rolled her eyes. "You weren't the one who didn't want to put blood on his clothes. You can do yourself," Donna replied, reaching around Harvey to shove the bottle of fake blood into Mike's chest.

The older lawyer and secretary waited rather patiently for Mike to apply his own fake blood, which he did rather clumsily under both of their gazes. He looked up at least once to find Harvey smirking at him. He blushed deeply for reasons unknown to him and fumbled the fake blood only for it to fall on the ground and leak out. Harvey couldn't keep from laughing.

"Mike, do you need help?" Donna asked, with more than a little exasperation in her tone.

"No, no, I'm fine. See? I'm almost done."

"Sometimes, I wonder how you manage on your own," she said as he snapped the lid shut, opened Harvey's car door, and was ready to toss it in the backseat when he saw the dangerous glare on Harvey's face. He hunched his shoulders in guilt and set it down gently and upright at the foot of Donna's seat.

"Good puppy. He has a sense of self-preservation after all."

"Are we ready then? Let's go!"

It had taken them thirty minutes to get from the parking garage to the park and in that time, there had to have been a dozen people who screamed, "It's Indiana Jones! Hey it's Indy! Dead Indy! Can I get a picture? Dude, look, it's Zombie Indy!"

"I knew this was a bad idea," Harvey sniped at Donna and Mike as they shot each other conspiratorial winks and amused grins.

"I thought you _liked_ being the center of attention," Donna replied.

"Only when I look like the best damn closer in the city."

"Have you been hearing all the compliments you've been getting? The best damn closer still looks good, just fitting for the occasion," Mike said, gesturing to all the other zombies that were walking down with them. He had to admit, he thought this walk was supposed to be a little gathering meant just for the lawyers at Pearson Hardman, but just noticing the volume of people streaming down the sidewalks to the park suggested this was far beyond the scope of their firm.

"Hmmph," Harvey said and he tipped the fedora down a little further to hide his face.

Donna reached over and tipped it back up and she said, "Come on, Harvey, indulge a little! Have some fun! I bet none of your costumes as a kid looked half as cool as you look now."

"I indulged in it when I was college," Harvey shot back at her. "I'm a little old to be indulging in it now."

"He's not," Mike suddenly pointed and couldn't keep from laughing. "Zombie Santa! He looks great!"

"See, Harvey? Live a little. You've been too wrapped up in the world of a lawyer and the rich. Have fun."

"I have fun on my own terms," Harvey muttered, but he did give an amused chuckle at Zombie Santa already lurching along in character, complete with a bag of toys thrown over his shoulder. His tangled white beard even had gobs of sticky blood stuck in it.

Mike admitted that dressed up like they were, he had felt a little like an idiot. When they had been driving down the parking garage, Donna had made faces at people in other cars stuck at the red light with them, and every single time he saw the occupants of the car break down in laughter, then point and whistle at her. There had been another time when a person in a car next to Harvey glanced over and gave him an odd stare. The older lawyer had noticed and simply nodded at him with a cool look and the man had nearly broken down into giggles, to which Harvey just sighed. But now that they were far from being the only zombies in the city, it was much easier to revel in their appearance.

"Whoa," Mike intoned when they finally came up to the park and saw, not just a couple hundred people, but _thousands_ of milling zombies wandering around the park, waiting for the event to begin.

"Well, you were right, Donna. We do look like kickass zombies," Harvey said to her as he pointedly watched some college kids go by with sloppy red and white make-up applied, making them look more like sloppy versions of clowns rather than zombies.

"Yes, another example to back up that I am right. All the time," Donna replied.

Harvey snorted and turned to give her a mischievous grin, "No you're not. What about that professor guy you had three dates with? You were so convinced he was just being metaphorical until you finally realized that he did raise monkeys in the basement of his apartment complex."

She frowned and blushed a little. "I could swear he was talking about his students!"

Harvey only laughed at her and then Mike jumped in, "Oh, like you haven't dated any weirdos!"

"Except I don't date, kid. Gets me out of experiencing a lot of crap the average bachelor would have to go through."

Donna got a thoughtful look on her face and she stared pointedly at Mike. "Harvey _has_ picked up girls that tried to sabotage his condoms."

Mike's eyes widened, "Got any illegitimate children, Harvey?"

"I don't think so," Harvey replied, but Mike had noticed his good humor had slipped away at the mention of those particularly crazy women. He still had a smirk on his face, but it lacked the gleeful light Harvey usually had when he was amused. "I caught them all before we got far enough and then I tossed them out on their ass. I will not risk it, I don't care if they're almost passed child-bearing age or not."

"See? Harvey's had his share of crazies. It's just a different brand of crazy," Donna said. "Let this be a warning, Mike. You're handsome enough you'll get some women later. Be sure you don't get conned into having any children you don't want."

Mike gulped at the thought and said, "Well, I have a nice steady relationship now." Although he seriously wondered how long _that_ would last if Jenny continued to get pissed at him like she was today.

As they approached the park, they noticed a stage had been set up close to the road and a man dressed up as a passable imitation of Beetlejuice was talking into a microphone, "For those zombies just arriving, please come to the stage to be counted."

"All right, let's get this over with and then I want to see if I can find Jessica," Harvey said, making a beeline for the stage.

"Do you really think she'll be here?" Mike tried to picture Jessica Pearson as a zombie and failed rather miserably. If there were a zombie apocalypse, he had no doubt that she would be on the front-line directing the troops with not a single scratch on her.

"She's definitely here. Jessica _always_shows up to these things. In fact, she's probably hovering somewhere around the stage."

They didn't see her as they approached the stage, though Harvey was straining to look over the crowds to catch a glimpse of her, but he shook his head as they followed the steady line up onto the stage. At the top of the stairs, a woman volunteer, not dressed up at all, was pulling off stickers and putting them on the shoulders of everyone who passed her.

"Nice costume," she said to Harvey as she put a sticker on his shoulder.

He accepted her compliment with a nod and asked, "Where do you put your donations?"

"The man in the Beetlejuice costume has the can," she said with a nod over her shoulder and then she grinned at Mike as she stuck him with a sticker. "Your group has some really clever costumes."

"Thanks," Mike mumbled, keeping his head bowed and Donna rolled her eyes from behind him.

The associate followed Harvey over to where he was standing with the Beetlejuice guy, who spluttered when he was handed several hundred dollar bills.

"Uhh…do you need a receipt for that, sir?"

"No," Harvey who looked about as joyful as a little boy forced into taking piano lessons. He turned and started down the stairs on the other side of the stairs before the guy could say anymore and just as Mike was getting out his wallet to donate something, Donna put her hands on his shoulder and pushed him along.

"Mike, you have little enough as it is. Consider yourself a part of Harvey's donation," she said to him.

"But – !"

"Are you honestly going to argue with me?"

"Well, I mean, it would only be decent. I can't just claim to be part of Harvey's donation!"

"Sure you can. You and I both helped Harvey earn that money. I promise you, this day is on him," she said.

"Will you hurry up?" Harvey said from the bottom of the stairs. At the uncertain frown on Mike's face, he said, "You don't need to donate anything. You're a peon associate with a grandmother to take care of. Feel free to be as philanthropic as you like when you're senior partner one day."

"You really think I'll get to where you are?" Mike asked, unable to believe he would ever be the caliber lawyer that Harvey was.

Harvey smirked at him. "I _know_ you will be." With that he turned away and glanced around the crowd, still trying to see if he could spot Jessica.

Just as he started off in a direction, he heard his name from the opposite direction he was going and he turned back. He recoiled and blinked as a bright flash met his eyes and after the white spots disappeared he saw Jessica smirking at him with delight, holding her little point camera.

He drew his mouth into a furious line and stepped over to her with a glare, but she only looked please.

"I am going to print this shot, put it on my desk, and write a little note next to it that says 'Harvey finally wore a costume like I asked,'" Jessica said with a pleased smile.

"It was Donna and Mike's fault," Harvey said to her and she looked over at them with a pleased smile.

Mike shifted uncomfortably since he hardly ever got such an appraising look from Jessica, but he did his best to meet her stare. "Well then, I may actually have to give them a raise for doing the impossible."

"You don't keep me around to see that I dress up in costumes. I keep your firm profitable by being the best closer," he said with a proud smile.

"Hmm…that's very true. But you would be perfect if you actually did everything that I asked," she replied and there was a bite to her tone.

"I am the closest to perfection you're going to get," Harvey replied, raising his eyebrows at her and giving her one of his patent charming smiles.

"Is that one of your pick-up lines? It's not half as good when you're looking like a ghoul, not to mention using it on your boss."

"Whatever works to stay on her good side," Harvey said, quieter than his normal tone but Jessica obviously still heard it. "Just so you know, I think my delivery of said pick-up line was far less effective made by the fact that you look hideous."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jessica said, but Mike could tell she was having difficulty trying to keep from smiling. She had grayed out her skin much like Donna had done to all of them, but she quite possibly looked even more zombie-like with darker circles under her eyes. She had apparently decided to go as a zombified rich woman, because she was wearing one of her beautiful black dresses and, as a result, had not used nearly as much blood as they had. She surveyed them with her head held up high and smiled on them kindly almost like how a grandmother would to her grandchildren. "You all look great at the very least. Now, please tell me that isn't a real whip."

"Of course it is," Harvey said with a mock scoff. "I would not go as Indiana Jones if I could not do it authentically."

"That better stay on your belt."

"Relax. It's tied there. Jessica, I thought you knew me better than that."

"Mmhmm. That's why I had to ask."

"Oh yes, that reminds me. Is there a position open for a slave driver at the firm? Because I will gladly fill it."

"And, again, that's why I asked," Jessica shot back at him, but she was once again having trouble trying to keep from grinning. When she could see that even Harvey's attention was starting to drift away from her, she informed them, "Much of the firm is gathered here – makes it easier to count who was here and who wasn't. Feel free to mingle."

"Hmm," Harvey said to her, glancing around more as a courtesy than a sign of any real interest. The only people he talked to on a regular basis were standing around him right now. "Is there any protocol for leaving after the walk is done?"

"No. Feel free to do whatever you want. You have to be in the walk for at least an hour, Harvey," Jessica said giving him an evil eye since she knew he had a tendency to duck out of even more formal functions.

"I wouldn't worry about him, Jessica. He will finish the walk or face my wrath," she said in a cool voice and a hard look at Harvey, which he ignored.

Jessica smiled. Donna was scary but quite possibly the best part about her was her ability to keep Harvey in check; that last thing he needed was his excellent secretary angry with him.

Harvey led them over to a nearby sycamore tree and then pulled out his phone to check the time and he sighed. "This thing starts at seven. We still have another twenty minutes and I doubt this will start on time," he said with a scowl.

"So tell me what else you were planning to do tonight?" Donna asked. "Oh, that's right, nothing."

He smiled unpleasantly at her.

Mike paid them little attention and was instead staring around at all the people passing by. It was so strange to see so many people dressed alike in so many ways and yet he saw the odd strange costume here and there, such as a military zombie, dead David Bowie – he could appreciate a nod to Dr. Horrible – and even just some regular zombies that looked freaky as hell. One man looked like a Hannibal with gray skin, down to the creepy eyes and everything.

"Am I allowed to wander around?" Mike asked, knowing that Harvey was usually particular about such behavior.

"Go ahead. But if you get lost, I'm leaving you here," the lawyer replied. He was surveying the area much like a hunter surveys the game he's about to shoot.

"Well, I have my cell phone on me if you need me."

"He remembered his cell phone, Donna! Imagine that."

"I'm shocked."

Mike stuck his tongue out at both of them as he walked away. Immature, sure, but then they were treating him like a child. The forgetful phone episode lasted all of a week! He hadn't forgotten it since – he made sure of it.

Mike hadn't wandered away for more than a minute, so Harvey was surprised when he felt a presence step up beside him and he addressed it, "Back so soon? You better not ask me to – Oh God, it's you."

"Hi, Harvey," Louis said in his nasally voice.

Donna had her back turned to Louis and she visibly cringed at the sound of his voice, but she turned around to show him a very strained smile. As usual, Harvey didn't even bother to hide his dislike of Louis and he sneered at Louis' costume.

"Good evening, Louis. You look like the bastard child of Ronald McDonald and the Joker. Not in a good way though," Harvey said to him with a grimace and Donna was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"You think you're so funny, Harvey. Why in the world are you dressed up like that? Don't you think the Indiana Jones outfit is overkill? You even did a crappy job of matching the outfit," Louis said, eyeing his black leather jacket and the odd leather whip and wrinkling his nose in a snotty way.

"While detail maybe important in the court of law. It's not here. I must've had twenty people scream 'Indy' at me when I first walked into the park."

"I'm surprised they could make the connection with all that terrible make-up on your face."

"Whoa, Louis. I did _not_ just hear you insult my make-up job, did I?" She had a dangerous look in her eyes and she turned with her hands on her hips to glare Louis down. The cowardly lawyer shrank back.

"Yes, he did! Sick him, Donna!" Harvey was smiling deviously, standing out of the way and slightly behind Donna now.

"Uh no, Donna. You look quite lovely. I was just implying the make-up doesn't look so great on Harvey. He doesn't wear it well," Louis spluttered, shrinking back from the fire in her eyes. Damn, what he wouldn't give to have Donna at _his_ side defending him like she was Harvey now.

She glanced back at Harvey and then back at Louis, raised her chin up haughtily and said, "I think Harvey looks perfectly hideous. Whoever did your make-up job looks like they have the coordination of a five-year-old." She was certain that if the ratty lawyer's face wasn't painted so white it would be a nasty shade of violet.

"I think I look perfectly feasible as a zombie – "

"Good for you," Harvey interjected.

"And I'm sure it will work for this deal tonight."

"Same as mine."

"You needn't be so cocky, Harvey," Louis sneered at him. "You won't be winning any awards looking like that. I bet you couldn't even get into your favorite restaurant dressed like that."

It was like light watching a light bulb go off in Harvey's head and he stepped up to Louis, using his height to tower over him. To his credit, Louis did not cower away but he did appear a little nervous. "Is that a challenge?"

"You _really_ think they'll let you into the restaurant looking like a zombie?"

"I guarantee it. _Le__Bernardin_ will let me in."

Louis nearly choked, but then he got a hold of himself and smirked at Harvey. "Are you serious? Not only is that a very high class restaurant, but it's _French_. You know how particular they are."

"I do," Harvey said, leaning over Louis with a smirk on his face. Donna had recognized this Harvey before. It was how he acted on trial day, but most often when he was especially confident of the case. Normally she would be having difficulty repressing a smile at his occasional boyish exuberance, but now she just stared at him like he was crazy. If she had not spent all afternoon with him, she would have thought that he either had too much alcohol or somehow agreed to smoke weed with Mike.

"Fine, I'll take that bet. There's no way you're gonna win, Harvey."

"So what's the sum? A thousand?"

Louis thought about it for a moment and said, "Five hundred. This isn't one of our big office bets."

"Fine, five hundred," Harvey replied with what looked like a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Better stop at the ATM before you head over there, Harvey," Louis said to him as Harvey turned to walk back over to the sycamore to stand next to Donna.

"You better get into your secret stash in your stateroom before your wife finds out," Harvey said to him. He struggled to keep from laughing when Louis gave him a strange look that had nothing to do with his wife joke.

"Are you high? You really think you can get into _Le__Bernardin_ dressed up as zombie Indiana Jones?"

"Oh, I'm sure they can open up a private table for their most loyal and favorite customer," Harvey replied, readjusting the fedora in lieu of a tie he would normally be wearing.

Donna stared and then she felt her mouth curling up into a humorous smile. He might have a chance after all.

+~.Suits.~+

Mike had wandered through the crowds of people, grinning the whole time at all the various costumes, and channeling the infectious excitement of the crowd. Several people had called out to him, pointing with several different names on his tone, "Engineer zombie, you rock! Office employees for the win! You look great!" He would nod and bow his head, and he even stopped for a few pictures from eager fans.

He really had expected a much smaller affair, so knowing that he would be one of what could be considered an actual zombie apocalypse if everyone was infected, he was starting to grow giddy. He glanced back to where Harvey and Donna were supposed to be and when he didn't see them he decided it was probably a good idea to head back.

He had just reached the general area where the lawyers were hanging when he suddenly tripped. His hands flung out to catch himself, but he still ended up with grass stains all over his shirt. Well, at least this was meant to be a dirty and nasty costume. He glanced back to see what had tripped him and scowled.

"Oh, sorry, Ross. Maybe you should watch where your big feet are going," Greg said to him with a nasty smile. Kyle was standing next to him and he laughed rather evilly at Mike sprawled out all over the ground.

"Very mature, guys," Mike said to him as he got to his feet and tried to brush out the grass stain anyway, more out of habit than any real need to clean it. "Who did you two decide to go as? The zombie versions of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?" He asked, pretending not to notice that one of them had a Yankees Jersey on and the other had a Red Sox Jersey.

"That's all you got, Ross? I see you're still dressed up as Harvey's little bitch," Kyle gloated at him and Greg burst out with laughter. They high-fived each other as though it was the greatest joke ever told, but Mike shook with fury. He was fairly certain that his ears had gone a violent red and he was clenching his fists, ready to give a knockout punch. He wasn't even thinking about how bad it would look, not only for himself, but on Harvey if he punched an associate right under the noses of all the partners and _Jessica_. He convinced himself that in a fair trial, he'd be acquitted.

Kyle saw this and raised up his hands, "Ooooh, wanna fight, Ross? I bench 150. What do you bench? Ten? I could beat your ass from here to the Pearson Hardman building," Kyle crowed and Greg stood next to him, clearly ready to gang up on the scrawny young associate.

Mike suddenly stopped as though he realized he was clearly outnumbered and he stopped advancing, but he had a stubborn jut to his jaw. "You really think ganging up on me here would be a good idea?" He asked, waving his hands at the general location of the lawyers.

"Oh, I think we could easily lose them in the crowd," Kyle replied, nodding at the thousands of milling zombies as he stepped up and put a hand on Mike's shoulder to turn him around.

The young lawyer abruptly brushed him off and his face was dark with anger. "Don't touch me!"

"Don't worry, Ross, it's just a nice little stroll through the park," Kyle said, with a nod at Greg who came up on his other side.

Mike however held his ground and was even smirking lightly at them as Kyle reached for his shoulder again.

"I believe that is called assault," a low deadly voice sounded behind them. The two associates went parchment white and quickly turned around to face the deep and dark wrath of Harvey Specter, who had drawn himself up to his full height and stared down at them like the pissants they were. Mike tried to hide his glee that Harvey had untied the whip at his belt and was currently slapping it into his palm like a baseball bat he was about to beat them up with. Donna stood behind him with an equally menacing glare at his side.

"Mr. Specter! Ross was talking about doing the zombie walk with us – " Greg lied quickly and he allowed a small relieved smile when Harvey let his shoulders drop and he held onto the whip handle.

"I heard what you intended to do with my associate," he said in the same low voice. It was difficult to hear over the chatter of the large crowd but Kyle and Greg appeared to hang onto every word and he used this to his full advantage. "If I see you threaten my associate again tonight, I will arrange for a cab to take you back to Pearson Hardman where you can spend the rest of the evening working on briefs and then, come Monday morning, you can explain to Jessica why you weren't here for the zombie walk when we were all required. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes sir," Both Kyle and Greg had stammered and they quickly scurried off into the crowd to get away from the most fearsome closer in the city.

Mike watched them go with a huge grin on his face and then he turned back to Harvey. "That was awesome. I think you should bring your whip to work on Monday."

"Will you stop grinning like that? You look like an idiot," Harvey said, his eyes darting around the area shiftily as he quickly wrapped up the whip again to tie it to his belt. "I can't. You heard Jessica! I wasn't even supposed to take it off my belt," he whispered urgently.

"I saw that."

Harvey straightened up at Jessica's voice and gave her a genial smile and an entirely too innocent look. "Jessica, I was just – "

"Swooping in to your associates rescue? I saw. I'll let it slide this time. It was quite," she paused to drag out the moment. She chuckled at the horrified expression on Harvey's face and she was certain he had an idea of the next word that was going to come out of her mouth, "cute."

"What? No! I was just…it was because…" Harvey tried to come up with an excuse but while all of his standard responses worked for his associate, they did not work on Jessica. _Mike__is__my__responsibility_; most partners hardly batted an eye at the welfare of their associates. If their work was late, they were fired. If they showed up late for work as consistently as Mike had, they were fired. If their associate happened to be the main target for all the associate bullies, oh well. Most partners didn't give a rat's ass what happened to their poor associates, just as long as they did their job, no matter how difficult it was. At a loss for words he simply scowled at her and said, "I never want to hear that word to describe anything that includes me again." Then he rounded on his associate and pointed a finger into his chest. "And you! You're ruining my reputation!"

Donna snorted. "I don't think so, Harvey. You did that all on your own. Mike didn't ask for your help."

The two women were just shaking their heads and laughing at him. But, worst of all, Mike did not look chastised at all, but he simply shrugged and smiled which seemed to say, 'Give it up, you big softie. You definitely care.' He wouldn't deny that he had been pleased when Keith and George had scampered off with their tails between their legs, but that did not mean for a second that he cared one jot about Mike's welfare, at least not anymore than what would affect his work.

A man's voice suddenly boomed over the microphone and everyone turned to the stage. "Welcome to the 3rd Annual Zombie Walk hosted by the Hope Foundation." Harvey was grateful at least for all the attention to have turned away from him, but he sighed in frustration as the man launched into a long speech about what a good service everyone was doing for the community and what _not_ to do during the Zombie Walk. The police had apparently closed off traffic on the three streets everyone was supposed to walk on and they were lined with metal fences almost like a parade event. No one was allowed to grab any of the curious bystanders and all zombies were to stay in the street and not on the sidewalk.

"All right, can we get on with this thing already? I'm hungry," Harvey muttered.

"Maybe you should have eaten something before we left, smart one," Donna snarked at him.

"I had hoped this wouldn't take more than an hour but now…" he looked around at all the thousands of fake zombies starting to shuffle off to downtown and he frowned.

"These things always take hours, Harvey."

"Why don't you just go with the flow, Harvey," Mike said to him and he abruptly started staggering and shuffling like what was generally seen in the movies. His face was blank and he was moaning hoarsely.

"Wow, he actually looks like an extra in Dawn of the Dead," Harvey said, staring at him and he admitted to himself that he was honestly impressed. Even as he said this, other people around them were joining Mike in being a zombie and groans started to rise over the crowd. Some of them had their arms out in front of them as they shuffled and stumbled along.

"That's your cue, Harvey. Come on. Join in," Donna said, nudging him in the side and he frowned at her. She had begun shuffling along at barely a walking pace, now groaning with the rest of the crowd. When he continued to walk and look at her strangely she dropped character for a moment. "You're the one who looks like an idiot since you're not following the crowd."

He sighed but purposely kept his arms limp and shuffled along at a zombie pace and he was able to easily to slacken his face into a dull mask.

"You're not groaning!"

"I think everyone else is groaning enough."

She sighed but did not press the issue. Harvey was too stubborn to let completely loose even though he would not even look close to acting like a fool, considering the volume of people acting like zombies. She could even hear other people screaming and howling like loons all around her, but she was pleased that Harvey was even going through the motions. Donna glanced around to see if she could see any other familiar faces, but Jessica had long disappeared and, thankfully, neither Louis or either of his protégés appeared to be anywhere in sight.

They stumbled along as they were for a while, ending up near the metal railing on the side of the street.

"Ack! My throat's getting dry," Donna said, launching into a coughing fit from her too dry mouth.

"Aha! A good reason not to groan," Harvey said with a relieved smile on his face. She only glared at him but he failed to see it as they passed a restaurant with tables sitting outside and he strained his head at the passing tables. "They have beer! That's what I needed before this damn walk."

"But then you wouldn't have been able to drive us," Donna replied.

"That's what taxis are for. I hear there are a good number around New York. Ooof!" She didn't bother disguising that elbow in the ribs.

"I'm sure Jessica would have been just _thrilled_ for you to show up tipsy at the zombie walk."

"Aww, Harvey, why didn't we think of that? A beer _does_ sound good," Mike said.

"See? It would have been a good idea. You could have had one too, Donna."

She rolled her eyes and muttered something inaudible under the low sound of all the groaning.

Mike continued walking until they reached the end of the third block and then they started turning to go back to the park. His throat was scratchy, dry, and sore and his legs and feet were tired and painful. "Oh my God, I feel like an old man," Mike moaned as he shuffled along. "I've been biking for years and this walk around the block feels like a marathon."

"You are doing the zombie shuffle. That's a little bit harder than your regular walk," Harvey replied. He had refused to groan with the rest of the zombies, but he did not look any worse for wear as he walked along. "Has it been over an hour yet?"

"It's been an hour and a half, Harvey," Donna replied and she sounded tired as well. She continued along at her usual pace, but she had given up groaning as well and instead chanted, "Water. Water, please."

"An hour and a half? It took us an hour and a half to walk four blocks? Do you think anyone in the firm is still _here_?"

"Jessica is bound to still be here, but I wouldn't bet on anyone else," Donna replied.

"Can we leave then? I'm hungry and we still have to cash in on Louis' bet," Harvey said to her.

"I'm actually getting tired of this, too," Donna agreed. "Where's _Le__Bernardin?_"

"It's two blocks that way," Harvey said, pointing down a street to their right.

"More walking?"

"We can at least do it without shuffling."

"Wait, what is this bet you're talking about? When did this happen?" Mike asked when he realized the subject was completely new to him.

"You were wandering and Louis paid us a visit," Harvey said and, if it was at all possible, his dull zombie look became even duller at the mention of Louis' name. He slowly made his way over to the other side of the street.

"Now I'm _really_ glad I wasn't there."

"Yes, he insulted the make-up job I did on Harvey."

"She almost castrated him. I wish she would have. Excuse me," the older lawyer said as he pushed open the metal fence and slid through. A cop standing nearby gave them a sharp look and Harvey scowled at him. "We're done with the walk. Anyway, Louis made me a bet that I couldn't get into my favorite restaurant dressed up like this, make-up and all. I'm going to prove him wrong."

"Let me guess: this restaurant is particularly ritzy and high class, too," Mike said with a bored look on his face.

"That's right," Harvey said as he strolled down the street, surprisingly unabashed at the people who stared at him now.

"I don't know if he can do it," Donna said to Mike's incredulous face.

"You just watch," Harvey turned and shot a look at her that said 'have a little faith.' "Besides, you're going to stay outside the restaurant. They definitely won't let you in if your jeans are ripped."

"That's true. Louis didn't state that he had to get us inside the restaurant," Donna said.

"We're still having pizza tonight then?"

"Yes. We are not eating at my favorite restaurant dressed like this. I would never be able to show my face again," Harvey said. Since he was leading them, neither one could see his face, but his tone sounded troubled.

"Beer and stuffed crust pizza sounds like a great idea," Mike said.

He heard Harvey sigh and he said, "Yes! We're getting you a stuffed crust pizza all right? You can stop hinting at it."

The conversation died as they walked along the New York City block until Harvey finally held out his hand and stopped them. It was easy to see how rich this place was as limos pulled up one right after the other to drop their high paying customers off at the curb. Old ladies in fancy dresses and wearing big rings, middle-aged men in the nicest tuxedos money could buy as they helped out their twenty year old dates from the car, beautiful women heading into the restaurant as a part of their weekly ritual to get together, all of them dressed in their best.

Mike stared at all this and never felt so nervous in his life. He glanced down at his bloodstained and, most recently, grass-stained clothing with pants that were slightly too short and he stared at the skin of his arms, stained gray and red with make-up. He shuddered at his appearance and then took in Harvey's. By far, the older lawyer was more imposing and he wondered if perhaps he _did_ have a chance of pulling it off. However, after one look at the blood-stained khakis Harvey wouldn't even normally wear to the office and a glance at the fedora and the whip, made Mike chuckle disbelievingly.

"You sure this is a good idea, Harvey? You look like some hobo who got gangbanged last night."

"And you look like the poor kid everyone beat up for their lunch money," Harvey shot back.

Mike winced when he felt it hit a little too close to home. Harvey noticed this and said, "Relax. I'm the one who has to go in there. Not you. Just wait patiently out here. I shouldn't be more than five minutes or so."

Harvey was now glad more than ever for his training as a lawyer because although his face appeared to be that of a stoic mask, he wouldn't deny feeling nervous for the first time since he left the New York police department twelve years ago. The restaurant could easily throw him out before he set foot on the first step, so he had to be careful. He locked onto a particularly beautiful lady and walked up just as she was starting up the steps.

She jumped a little in shock at his appearance but then she smiled as she looked him up and down; just the reaction he needed. "Why, hello there, Dr. Jones," she said, playing along and she started up the step with him. "Just come fresh from the zombie walk I take it?"

"Indeed I did. I've always had the aspiration to dress up as something fearsome and grotesque; the Hope Foundation zombie walk was just the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, though, now I'm famished and looking to see if my favorite restaurant will allow me to dine here for the night."

The woman did her best to hide her laughter as she glanced down at his blood-stained shirt and pants. "I wish you good luck. You might just have enough charm to make it past the doorman, particularly after you went to such trouble to support a good cause like the Hope Foundation."

"Why thank you, my Lady. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to give it one hell of a shot," he said as he continued up to the door where the man standing there was giving him an odd look, but he had overheard the conversation and he decided to wave the man on through. This was bound to be the most entertaining night of his career and he would enjoy watching the Indiana Jones imposter try.

"I will enjoy watching the attempt," Harvey heard the woman say behind him as she also walked past the doorman.

He immediately had everyone's attention as he walked through the doors; a strange hush fell over the hall as people at the bar turned to see the commotion and those mingling in the lobby stared at him. He waited behind another couple where the host was currently scratching out their reservation and handing them off to a waitress ready to lead them into the restaurant. The young man working as the host was one Harvey thankfully had spoken with in the past and in his mind, the name floated to the forefront, ready to use. The host stared at him as he stepped up with a semi-amused and mortified expression on his face.

"I am terribly sorry, sir, but we require a certain level of dress at this restaurant. You will have to leave," the man said to him in a heavily French accent.

"Please, Pierre, it was a spur of the moment idea. I didn't have enough time after the zombie walk to change for the evening. I beg your pardon if you will allow me a table for one," Harvey said to him, taking off his fedora for extra benefit and he tried to run his hand through his hair to make it lie flat, but to little avail.

Pierre, however, peered at him through squinted eyes and cocked his head curiously at him. Then suddenly they widened comically and his mouth hung open in shock. "Monsieur Specter!" A collective gasp filled the room as his name sounded throughout the hall and he did his best not to wince. It was now going to be all in the rich gossip that he had tried to enter _Le__Bernardin_ dressed as a zombie; he would probably hear all about it again at work on Monday.

"Please, Pierre, its Harvey." The lawyer did his best to keep from laughing at the look of pure mortification on the poor kid's face as he stared at the lawyer and struggled to find the right words to say.

"Harvey, normally we would turn anyone away who was dressed in anything less than a suit, sir," Pierre said to him slowly as though he were treading carefully through a pit of sleeping panthers.

"I understand, Pierre, but I was out later than I normally would promoting a good cause. I am only here for a quick bite to eat – you know how much I love eating here," he replied, injecting just the barest hint of puppy eyes that Mike had taught him through his multiple demonstrations.

Pierre seemed to be thinking about this and he said, "But, Monsieur, you have not been here in a month."

"I'm afraid my case load has been rather strenuous of late. But I needed an excellent meal to help keep me on my feet. I have a client I am supposed to be dining with next week; I will of course bring them here," Harvey said to him, trying desperately not to show how tightly he was gripping his fedora. _Come__on,__Pierre,__don__'__t__let__me__down!_

The poor host seemed to be at a loss, but at the people stacking up behind Harvey he sighed and said, "Monsieur, we will always have a table available for you. Our only request is that you wash the make-up off your face before we seat you."

Harvey gave him a relieved grin and replied. "That's more than fair."

"Please, if you will follow me then, sir," Pierre said, motioning towards the stairs that went into the restaurant.

"I really appreciate you doing this for me, Pierre, but I am afraid I will have to decline. I wouldn't want to put your career here at _Le__Bernardin_at risk." Harvey dug out his wallet from his back pocket, pulled out a one hundred dollar bill, and carefully slipped it into the host's pocket.

Pierre only just stared.

"For humoring me," Harvey said, with an amused quirk of his lips. He turned to leave and the grin grew wide and evil. "Louis! I see you came just in time to watch me get seated. Now, I know you only said that I had to get into the restaurant, which I did," Harvey replied, motioning to the doors the other lawyer had just walked through, "but I decided to go ahead and see if I could get seated. There you have it. Even while looking like a zombie, I can _still_ get into my favorite restaurant. Now hand it over!"

Louis was beside himself with rage. The rat-faced lawyer had clearly cut out of the zombie walk early because he was all dressed in his nicest suit and odd gray tie, ready to eat there as well. Louis appeared just ready to open his mouth and ream Harvey out, but all the eyes of the rich were on them and he reluctantly dug into his pants for his wallet and counted out five one-hundred dollar bills.

Harvey snatched it from his hand and gave Louis his smoothest and cockiest smile. "A pleasure doing business with you, Louis," he said. He noticed the woman he had been talking to earlier was wearing a look of amused shock and her friends behind her were hiding their mouths behind their hands as they clearly tried to keep from giggling at him. He gave her a deep nod and then left the restaurant.

The conversation in the restaurant picked up right away, all on the events that had just taken place, but the woman continued to stare after Harvey. "I need to find that man. Anyone with the confidence to walk into a restaurant dressed like that is well worth the effort."

"So charming too," one of her friends said and they both shared a conspiratorial look.

"You're talking about Harvey?" Louis asked, finally snapping out of his anger when he realized he had the chance to demonize his most hated rival in front of a woman whom had clearly captured his eye. "I would recommend avoiding him, Ms…?

"Belafonte," the woman replied politely, but her smile was now strained as it fell on the conniving lawyer.

"Ms. Belafonte, Harvey does not have the most stellar reputation. He is all good looks and charm, but little more than that," Louis said, giving her what was supposed to be his charming smile. "Are you alone this evening? Perhaps we can continue this conversation."

+~.Suits.~+

"He's gone too long," Donna said to Mike as they continued to wait outside. The sun had long set and they were both starting to shiver as the cold crept up from the pavement.

"Yeah, but that could be a good thing. He clearly hasn't been thrown out yet," Mike said, with his arms wrapped around his body trying to stay warm. "Hey, is that him?"

"I'm fairly certain he's the only one wearing a fedora," Donna said with a disgruntled tone to her voice.

"I did it," Harvey called to them as he finally joined them. "See? It was easy."

"We saw Louis enter about a minute ago. I can just imagine how livid he is right now," Mike said to Harvey with a pleased grin. "Wish I could have been there."

"No, kid, you would've lost me the bet."

"You know what I mean!"

"Can we go then? I'm starving now," Donna said, more than a little grumpily.

"Yes, let's go," Harvey replied and they began the silent march back to the parking garage they had left all those hours ago.

+~.Suits.~+

Mike yawned widely and loudly as he watched the last ten minutes of Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, which he had started once he realized Harvey's Netflix account carried it. He glanced over at the couch and couldn't keep from grinning.

Harvey was collapsed now in a corner of the couch with his legs stretched out so that they rested underneath the coffee table, breathing softly as he slept. Donna had sat next to him when the night had begun and she now used Harvey's shoulder as a pillow; one of her hands rested on his stomach in a half-hug as they snoozed together. They had been like that for nearly two hours.

Once back at Harvey's condo, he had insisted that they all take a shower before he dared let them lounge all over his leather couches with all that ghastly make-up. Donna had been the last one to use the showers and the pizza had unfortunately come while she was away. Harvey had knocked on his bathroom door and let her know it was there, but neither he nor Mike waited for her to come out and started polishing it off eagerly. Harvey had been starting on his third slice when she finally came out and snarled at them about the lack of pizza left. As it was, there were only three pieces left of just the stuffed crust and after eating five pieces and drinking two beers, Harvey was out like a light just half an hour into Shaun of the Dead.

Donna had followed him not long after, but Mike was doggedly continuing to hang on. He was quickly losing the battle as he nestled deeper into Harvey's leather armchair and he gazed sleepily at the TV. After Dr. Horrible was done, he would turn the TV off and go to sleep with the rest of them but as it was a Saturday night, he refused to fall asleep before midnight and at that moment it was 11:55.

Suddenly he heard the sound of a deep inhalation and he turned to see Harvey blinking his eyes owlishly. The older lawyer glanced down at his watch and sighed as he rubbed at his eyes. He squinted and blinked at Mike in the arm chair and sighed sleepily. "I'm going to bed," he said. "And so is Donna. Feel free to watch whatever the hell you want, just keep it down."

"I'm going to bed after this."

"I'd recommend it," Harvey said to him.

Mike was busy watching the climax when motion caught his eye and he saw Harvey carefully pick Donna up so that her head continued to be nestled into his shoulder and he carried her up the short staircase to his bed. Mike stared. This was not a side he had often seen in Harvey. Actually, as he thought about it, this was a side he hadn't been certain existed in Harvey but there he was letting her take at least half of the bed. Once he had tucked her in, he headed back down to his hall closet and pulled out a few pillows and a down blanket. He placed them on the coffee table and said, "Goodnight."

"Night, Harvey. Thanks for everything."

The older lawyer said nothing in return, just turned out all the lights, and Mike switched off the TV and moved to the couch Harvey had just been sitting on so that he could stretch out his legs. He sighed as he pulled the blanket around him and sank into the cushions of the couch thinking back on the night. Donna had been right. The night had been a lot more fun than he had originally foreseen and he would gladly go as a zombie again if it meant not having to wear a tuxedo.

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

**I hope you enjoyed the story! It has been a pleasure reading your responses! =)**


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